Creamy Chicken Picatta Pasta

 

So, I got sick of screaming at my kids  to leave  me alone when I am trying to exercise, and joined the YMCA.  I do feel a bit guilty dropping 4 kids in there at once.  For more than one reason.  First, I could barely leave my kids in nursery for church.  Separation anxiety.  Mine.  Part of the reason I homeschool.  Also, I did some quick calculations...  and per hour I am paying next to nothing for the child care.  I have done 2 classes per day since Tuesday...  last night, while changing for bed, I almost had to ask for help getting my shirt off because I could barely lift my arms to get it off.  Then I thought about it and thought my husband might think I was feeling frisky.  Nope.  I suffered through and did it myself.  Maybe tonight I will just sleep in my clothes.  Changing clothes for bed is overrated.

 To the food.  I saw a recipe on Pinterest for this type of dish and it looked so good.  I live all things lemon, and I had some lemons I had zested for baking.   Although the other dish looked great, it called for grilling the chicken.  It is too hard to grill and do all the other moving parts while on my own.  And most nights, I am cooking solo.  So, I whipped up my own version.  This was a fairly quick and tasty dish.  Loved that I can pair it with pasta. 

 

CREAMY CHICKEN PICATTA PASTA

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
• Salt and pepper 
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 4-5 cloves minced garlic
• 2 shallots diced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 lemons, juiced 
• zest of one lemon
• 1/2-3/4 cup cream  (I eyeballed it)
• 3 tablespoons capers, drained
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup basil, chopped
• 1 pound pasta, cooked to al dente 
• Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cups reserved pasta water, or chicken broth (to thin)

DIRECTIONS:

Take 1/2 cup of flour and season with salt and pepper.  Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil.  Let the oil get hot while you toss the chicken pieces in the 1/2 cup of flour and the chicken to the pan.  Cook chicken until lightly golden all over, about 8-10 minutes.  sprinkle with zest, stir and remove chicken from pan and return the skillet to the heat. Reduce heat to medium. Add another tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter, the garlic and shallots to the skillet. Saute garlic and shallots for about 2-3 minutes, until shallots begin to soften. Add 2 TBSP flour, whisk and cook 2 minutes. Whisk in wine and lemon juice. Stir in capers and parsley. When the sauce begins to bubble, add cream remaining 1/2 tablespoon of butter.   Add chicken back to the pan and heat through, 2-3 minutes. Toss hot pasta with chicken and sauce, adding broth or pasta liquid to thin sauce.  Add handful of Parmesan cheese, stir and serve. Top with more cheese.